Flag this item for

movies

Squeak the Squirrel

Shows how a gold-mantled ground squirrel at Crater Lake National Park has learned to solve problems connected with getting food. Illustrates how an animal can learn to find food that is hidden from view or out of reach.

This is one of the AV Geeks favorite films, mostly because Squeak is somewhat of a working class hero who, in spite of what obstacles "the Man" puts in his way, always perseveres.

To license this film and get a higher quality version for broadcast/film purposes, contact A/V Geeks LLC.

comment

Reviews

Reviewer:JayKay49
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
December 7, 2018 Subject:
I Call It A Chipmunk

I have one out back that taught himself that that human there carries peanuts in his left shirt pocket. He taught himself to perch on my left shoulder (no matter where or which way I sit) and reach in and get the peanut. Never perches on the right shoulder. When fed by hand he only uses his paws to grab the peanut, never his mouth. (good thing because I once got my finger to just touch his incisor which was needle sharp).

I never knew chipmunks can be so people friendly. But just present them once or twice with a peanut and they will be there everyday waiting for you to show up. Yes they can learn.

In this delightful animal psychology film, viewers are introduced to the titular squirrel as he moves about in his native environment. Squeak briefly interacts with other squirrels, reacts to his reflection in a mirror, and consumes some peanuts from the hand of a patient young girl. Shortly afterwards, however, the energetic fellow is held captive by researchers and placed into a laboratory setting complete with long pieces of string, wire screens, a glass tube, and a white box. Through the careful placement of peanuts, Squeak is given the incentive that he needs to gradually solve various puzzles set forth by the hands of an unknown individual. The film provides a sterling example of how animals that find themselves outside of their habitat can learn new skills after observing their surroundings and the potential functions of the objects in their vicinity. It would be nice to see Squeak solve a Rubick's Cube with his resourceful little hands, but he's probably need a fair amount of time to make any considerable progress.

Interesting film that starts out as a nature film (and again, the nature film is something we see far too little of here on the archive) about a cute plucky squirrel named Squeek, who is out in the wild eating nuts and what not. Soon, we find out heÃÂÃÂs adapted to humans so much that he will eat of your hand! So thatÃÂÃÂs a good opportunity to kidnap squeak and put him in a cage to do simplistic science experiments on him! These experiments donÃÂÃÂt border beyond the ÃÂÃÂpull the string for the nutÃÂÃÂ, but itÃÂÃÂs sure curious on how this film develops.

A rather interesting film, seemingly aimed at either late elementary or middle school students, about animal learning. The film opens by introducing a ground squirrel given the cutsey name of Squeak as he runs around the forest. While not stated in the film, the outside shots appear to be done on the eastern rim of Crater Lake in southern Oregon.

While a pleasent and jovial narrator describes the action-- much like you see in most nature films of the 1950s-- the first experiment is to show how Squeak would react to a mirror. Next, we have a young girl first feeding Squeak from her hand and then from a couple boxes (clearly violating the park rule not to feed the animals...).

Afterward, we move to a labratory, where we see Squeak in his cage/nest. He runs through a increasingly complext series of tests that involve trying to get a peanut from a tube or a string. While the lab setting is a bit unsettling and would not be tolerated today, it is still fascinating to see how much problem solving capacity animals have. Despite the slightly condescending narrator, this film remains a good demonstration of animal intelligence.

Bonus points for a really clean print quality and vibrant colors that add to the enjoyment of the film.